Root After Another
by Gazing on the Arabesque
Summary: Keiko gets sucked into the corniest game of the entire Sonic series! With Shadow's amnesia, will she be able to hang onto her sanity long enough to complete the game? PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**Sequel to Nightmare of a Video Game. Keiko once again gets sucked in, but this time, it's Sonic Heroes. Sure, she's happy about Shadow, but with his amnesia, will she be able to hang on to her sanity long enough to get back to her own world? As for the disclaimers, I only own Keiko, Haru, and their mom. Everyone else is owned by Sega. PLEASE REVIEW!!**

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"Oy Keiko!" My older brother Haru tapped me on the shoulder and waved the cover of what appeared to be Sonic Heroes in front of my face. I angrily swept it out of the way. "Will you play it with me?" he begged. "It has Shadow in it." My eyes widened in shock. I had clearly seen Shadow falling to his doom in SA2. I even tried to save him. How could he be alive? Haru laughed. "Don't tell me you forgot." I looked up at him from the video game cover in which a certain annoying blue hedgehog, a cute yellow fox, and a gullible red echidna were flying.

"Forgot what?" Haru started roaring with laughter. He choked on his own spit while attempting to talk.

"Shadow comes back to life!" I mentally celebrated.

"Really?!" Haru nodded.

"Yeah, I know you're secretly a Shadow fangirl." I felt myself blushing.

"No I'm not…"

"Yeah, you are. I remember, you would always let me play the Rouge and Eggman stages in SA2, but you'd get really mad and force me to let you play the Shadow stages." I continued to blush as the sorry truth spilled out. "So will you play?" I began to think of a way I could benefit from this, as if attempting to get sucked in again wasn't enough.

"Will you do the dishes for me for another month?" I asked innocently. Haru groaned.

"Keiko, I'm still not done with the deal for playing Sonic Adventure 2."

"Then after you're done with that deal, you can start on this one. I'm not playing otherwise." Haru sighed.

"Fine, fine. Let's go." I followed Haru upstairs to his room. I couldn't believe it. Shadow came back to life? Thank you Sega! Once we were both inside Haru's room, the game started. The words "Sega" and "Sonic Team" appeared on the screen as music played. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles appeared on the screen as Haru pressed the start button. Suddenly our mom called from downstairs.

"Haru!" she called. "Phone for you!"

"Coming!" he called back. "Keiko, can you get the game started?"

"Which story do I pick?" I asked.

"Anything. Just pick one." I smiled mischievously. I was obviously going to pick Shadow's team. I pressed the A button on story mode. I moved the cursor over to the Team Dark box, where Shadow, Rouge, and a red robot stood, and pushed the A button, but nothing happened.

"Come on!" I pressed it a few more times with no luck. Suddenly, Omochao floated into the screen.

"Hurry and pick a team!" he said. I cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Since when did Omochao float in randomly, telling the player to pick a team? I pressed A again, but I had no luck. I concluded that the controller wasn't plugged in properly, so I unplugged it. Omochao once again floated into the screen. "You unplugged the main controller! Now you must die!"

"_What_?!" What was Omochao's problem?! Since when did he say this kind of stuff?!

"Come closer…" I took a step toward the TV screen. "A little closer…" I took another step toward it. Suddenly, a blue mechanical hand popped out of the TV screen and grabbed my shirt. I couldn't find my voice to scream as it pulled me into the TV. I expected a crash, but nothing came. I soon felt a familiar falling sensation as I landed in a completely different room. There was some sort of pod in the middle of the room filled with a green liquid. There was something black inside. Was it… Shadow? I heard the door open and quickly hid behind a red pillar-like thing. A white bat with aqua blue eyes stepped into the room. I quietly sighed in relief, recognizing who it was. This person was unmistakably Rouge the bat, a friend and comrade of mine when I last got sucked in. I didn't want to yell out to her, though. I knew the Dark story started in Eggman's base, and I didn't want to get caught.

"This must be it…" I heard her say to herself. "I've found Eggman's secret treasure!" She walked up to the capsule filled with green liquid and pressed a few buttons on the keypad below it. It was only now that I noticed a red robot slowly advancing toward her. The green liquid in the capsule drained and the black thing inside opened its eyes as the lid opened. I was right! It _was_ Shadow. Suddenly, the red robot fired at a red pillar behind them, causing it to explode.

"Stay here," he commanded her.

"Shadow!" She called back in surprise.

"MUST ERADICATE ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS!" the robot said monotonously.

"Huh?" Rouge was clearly confused. Suddenly, the robot fired at a pillar… the one I was hiding behind. I screamed and ran out of the way, blowing my cover.

"K-Keiko?!" Rouge asked in helpless confusion. The red robot made its way over to where I was hiding.

"MUST EXTERMINATE ALL TIES TO EGGMAN!" it said robotically. "MUST KILL RANDOM GIRL!" I ducked behind the robot and ran towards Shadow, who stuck out his foot to trip me.

"And who would you be?" he asked me. I was absolutely speechless; I was just happy to see him alive.

"Hey, hold up!" Rouge said, breaking up the fight while Shadow jumped toward the red robot. The entire room was in ruins.

"Who is this?" Shadow asked her, pointing to me. Rouge stared helplessly from Shadow to me, then back to Shadow again.

"She…" she began. "She's with me!"

"Well I certainly didn't see her with you. I don't know who you two are, but you seem familiar… somehow…" Rouge's face lit up, as if she just realized something.

"Now I get it…" she mumbled. "Now I know what this is all about!" She gestured toward the robot. "You're mad at Eggman for sealing you in this room… and you…" She gestured toward Shadow. "You can't remember anything, can you?" Rouge jumped down from where she was sitting. "Then it's settled." She picked up Shadow and threw him into the robot. "Now you two make up so we can go looking for Eggman… together…" She put her hand on top of Shadow's, which was already on the robots. "Oh yeah, baby, this makes us a TEAM!" Rouge then addressed me for the first time. "Wanna come, Keiko? You probably wouldn't want to be caught by Egghead, would you?" I shook my head, still speechless. "Then come on then!" I walked up to Shadow.

"Shadow—" He cut me off.

"Keiko, is it?" I nodded. "I don't know, but you seem really familiar…"

"Long story short, she comes from a different world," Rouge broke in. "A world where everything we do is some sort of game to her. Somehow, she keeps getting sucked in them, though."

"What do you mean, 'keep getting sucked in'?" I shot back. "This is only the second time!" Rouge scoffed.

"Yeah… _only_ the second time…" Shadow broke up the mini-fight.

"Well… am I supposed to know you?" Rouge and I both groaned in exasperation.

"How is it you remember me and not her?!" she asked him. "Trust me, she's been with you longer than I have… she definitely cares more about you than I do… oh, and by the way…" Rouge pulled out a golden bracelet. My eyes widened in shock at it. How could she have kept it for so long? "I think you're missing this." She tossed it to him. Shadow swiftly caught it and slid it onto his wrist. I turned my attention toward the robot.

"I assume you're E-123 Omega," I told him.

"AFFIRMATIVE." he replied. I smiled and held my hand out to him.

"I'm Keiko. I'll be accompanying you on your little quest. Please tell me if I get in your way." Omega grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly, sending waves of pain through it. Shadow's eyes narrowed at him.

"Hey, stop that!" he snapped at him. "You're crushing her hand!" Omega released my hand. Suddenly, a siren blared. Rouge cursed under her breath.

"We better get out of here," she told us urgently. "Due to all the ruckus, Eggman will know we're here. Come on you three. Shadow, do you mind taking Keiko with you?"

"Not at all."

"Then hurry up! Let's get out of here!"

"AFFIRMATIVE!" Omega piped up as he followed Rouge out the door. Shadow grabbed my hand.

"We'll be moving pretty fast."

"I know," I replied. "I'm used to it. Just don't Chaos Control… I don't think I'll be able to handle that." Suddenly, we both heard footsteps coming toward the room. Shadow tossed me a pleading look. I sighed and nodded.

"Chaos… CONTROL!!" I was instantly transported to a familiar black void.

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**Not much insanity and humor in the first chapter, I know. There most likely will be some humor in the later chapters, but not much. That's why I didn't label this as "humorous". Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**

XX

I landed on my feet next to Shadow, Rouge, and Omega and, to my surprise, I wasn't dizzy. Shadow tapped his foot impatiently. "Where are they?!" he grumbled.

"THERE IS SHADOW," a robotic voice spoke. I whirled around, only to find Rouge and Omega.

"How did you guys get here so fast?"

"Chaos Control," Shadow and I said simultaneously. Rouge smiled. "Good. You two ready?"

"WARNING!" Omega chanted. "IMMEDIATE DESTRUCTION IF DISTRACTED!"

"Hn," Shadow muttered. "Hope you can keep up with me." And with that, he took off running at full speed, leaving us in the dust. Rouge chased after him.

"Hey, WAIT UP!" she called as she ran after him

"AFFIRMATIVE!" Omega took off after the two, leaving me behind.

"Aw, NO FAIR!" I yelled. "I CAN'T RUN AS FAST AS YOU!" I took off after them, but I was _way_ behind even Omega. "OMEGA!" Omega came to a halt. "WAIT UP!" Omega stared blankly at me.

"CLIMB ON TOP OF ME." I thankfully obeyed him and climbed onto his back. Within seconds we were catching up to Rouge.

"ROUGE!" I yelled out to her. She skidded to a halt and whirled around.

"Oh…" she mumbled. "Sorry Omega! Sorry Keiko! SHADOW! GET YOUR EMO ASS BACK HERE NOW!" I could barely see Shadow, and it was not just that Omega's head was blocking my view. The tiny black dot that was Shadow stopped and grew larger and larger as it ran closer and closer toward us. As soon as he was around three feet away from us, he came to a halt.

"What?" he snapped.

"Look, Shadow," I started. "Rouge and Omega may be able to keep up with you, but I can't. So _please_ slow down a _little_." Shadow slowly nodded, as if I had just recited pi to its fullest.

"Well why didn't you say so?"

"I just did!" Shadow immediately grabbed my hand and took off running. Maybe it was my lack of experience with sudden bursts of full speed like this that made everything seem like a blur of color. I saw a blur of white and purple, possibly Rouge, and a blur of red, an Eggman robot. We came skidding to a halt. The world spun around me. As soon as I regained control of my senses, Shadow was on the move again. This time, I was used to the blur of color, but my head still spun when Shadow stopped.

"Get behind me," he whispered. I looked up, only to find a great metallic red bird staring at us. In the cockpit was an egg-shaped man… Dr. Eggman.

"So _you're_ the ones who were playing games with my army!" he thought out loud. I couldn't catch everything Omega said… something about destroying Eggman… I was thinking about an attack plan. The robot flew backwards.

"Shadow, catch up to him!" I yelled over the roar of the engine. Shadow stared at me, shocked at the fact that I just gave him an order.

"What?"

"I'm just trying to help you guys!" Rouge smirked.

"The last time you said that, you sided with the echidna."

"That doesn't matter! Anyway, Shadow, run up to him! Make sure he doesn't get away, and, whatever you do, _don't attack him_! Get the robots surrounding his machine instead!" I didn't bother to add that the speed character was the most useless character in the game. "Rouge, you fly up and destroy the motor so it slows down! Omega, you attack Eggman directly!"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"What about you?" Shadow asked.

"I'll run and catch up, now GO!" Shadow broke into a sprint to keep up with Eggman, Omega close behind him. Rouge sprang into the air and flew toward the bird. She kicked the robots controlling the motors, putting an end to them once and for all. Shadow homing-attacked each of the robots surrounding the cockpit while Omega punched the head of the bird with all the strength he could muster. Smoke rose up from the bird as Eggman slammed his fist into it.

"This isn't the end!" The seat holding him rose into the air, leaving the bird in the sand.

"All right!" Rouge cheered. "That actually worked!"

"Well of _course_ it did!" I exclaimed. "I've played this boss a million times before!"

"So _that's_ why you knew exactly what to do," Shadow muttered.

"Yup!"

"So…" Rouge started. "Where to next?" I tried to think of an explanation of where to go next. What would I say, _Grand Metropolis_?

"Um… in the game, it wasn't clear exactly _how_ you got there, but you're supposed to get to some sort of energy plant."

"Energy plant…" Rouge mumbled as she tried to make sense out of what I just said. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "Oh, you mean the Grand Metropolis!" If I knew it would have been that easy, I would have said that in the first place. "We just keep running down this beach and then we'll reach the city walls! Let's go!" She broke off into a run, and Shadow followed her.

"CLIMB ON MY BACK," Omega ordered me. I obeyed gleefully as he also started zooming down the beach.

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**This one's a little harder to write than the first one. That's why the updates are so slow. Sorry! Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the slow updates. This fic is a little harder to write than the previous one. Anyway, enjoy!**

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I got down from Omega's back. "So that Eggman's behind all this," Shadow wondered out loud. I pat him gently on the back.

"Good job Shadow," I complimented him. "You're finally catching on."

"Whatever it takes, he's _mine_!" Rouge announced before turning toward us. "Any objections?"

"NEGATIVE." Omega chanted. A long blue pathway loomed before us. I gulped. The characters in the game made it seem so easy! I took a step onto the blue path, and a strange sensation overcame me. It felt as if I was floating, but moving forward at the same time. I saw Shadow run along the path next to me. Suddenly, an idea came to my mind.

"Shadow!" I called out to him. He turned his head to face me. "I'll race you!"

"But I thought you couldn't keep up with me!"

"I can now!" I ran at full speed, overtaking Shadow in the process. The speed was exhilarating… much better than Shadow pulling me behind him. My body felt absolutely weightless as I ran forward, but, strangely enough, I didn't feel light-headed. I looked behind to see Shadow behind me. He was unmistakably running at full speed. I laughed as I continued running… only to have Shadow run in front of me at the last minute.

"I guess I win," he mumbled with a smirk.

"Shut up, I want a rematch."

"On solid land this time?"

"No way in hell." Rouge and Omega finally caught up to us.

"Thanks for ditching us," Rouge said sarcastically.

"START SEARCHING FOR EGGMAN," Omega chanted.

"All right," I gave in. "It was just a little fun anyway."

"NO TIME FOR FUN."

"All right, _fine_. No laughing or smiling from me." My mouth formed a straight line as I tried to suppress giggles. Rouge suddenly burst out laughing.

"You know, the easiest way to laugh is when someone says, 'don't laugh'," she pointed out. I couldn't help laughing myself.

"That's so true!"

"Wait…" I heard Shadow mumble. "Who's that?" He pointed to three figures: a purple chameleon, a green crocodile, and a bee wearing a helmet.

"Ohhhhh…" I whispered as I realized the truth. How could I _not_ recognize the Chaotix? They _were_ the coolest characters in the entire series… next to Shadow, Rouge, and Omega, of course.

"Man, who are those creeps over there?" Rouge asked in frustration. I saw the crocodile, Vector, turn to the chameleon.

"What's up, Espio?" he asked casually. The chameleon, who was Espio, turned to face us.

"And you are?"

"Who's this broad?" Vector asked in helpless confusion.

"Our client's adversary, perhaps," Espio suggested. The bee's face suddenly lit up.

"You mean the _bad guys_?" he asked in his high-pitched voice. I couldn't help smiling at Charmy's naivety. Rouge automatically took the defense.

"I know what you're after!" she yelled. "Better stay out of my way!" And with that, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega launched themselves at the Chaotix. I saw Espio disappear while Charmy tried stinging Shadow with his stinger. Meanwhile, Vector was trying to get a hit on Omega, but he kept missing. Suddenly, Rouge was tossed off her feet as Espio reappeared in her place.

"Everybody STOP!" I yelled. The Chaotix, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega turned and stared at me as if they just realized I was there. "This isn't getting us anywhere!" Espio's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"How do you know that?" he asked dangerously. I sighed.

"I just do!"

"Wait a minute, Espio!" Vector called out. "Didn't our client warn us about this human girl who knew everything that was going to happen?" Obviously.

"Are you saying this is the girl he was trying to warn us about?"

"The one from a different dimension?" Charmy asked. "_Cool_!" Great. I'd become part of a freak show.

"You mean Eg-he told you?" Espio, Charmy, and Vector all nodded. Eggman was so dead the next time I saw him… which would be very soon.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Dr. Eggman is, would you?"

"We just _TOTALED_ one of his machines down at the beach!" Vector announced excitedly. Rouge's eyes widened in shock.

"Strangely enough…" she trailed off, and Shadow calmly finished the sentence for her.

"So did we."

"MUST ERADICATE ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS," Omega chanted for the umpteenth time that day.

"No way!" Charmy objected. "He's _ours_!"

"Guys, can we settle this _later_?" I asked.

"FINE!" everyone suddenly snapped at me.

"Just so you know, we've got our tabs on Eggman," Espio told us.

"We do to… Let us know if you find anything…"

"Sheesh, what did he do to make everyone hate him all of a sudden?" I asked.

"He tried to take over the world by taking control of a weapon on the ARK," Rouge said flatly. "But I'm sure you already knew that."

"Of course. Well… let us know if you find anything. We'll be going. Come on, guys." I grabbed Shadow's arm and pulled him away from the Chaotix. Shadow started running as we made our way toward the Casino Park.

XX

**Wow I haven't updated in AGES! Sorry for the slow update!**


	4. Chapter 4

**More of my own views on this particular level of the game are expressed in this chapter. Enjoy!**

XX

"Hmm… I wonder…" Rouge mused. "Never mind. Those guys were definitely up to no good."

"So you think," I added.

"ENEMIES LOCATED TWO HUNDRED METERS AHEAD!" Omega chanted. "INITIATING BATTLE MODE!" He and Shadow ran forward, leaving me and Rouge in the dust.

"WAIT FOR US!" I yelled as Rouge and I started to follow them. We followed Shadow and Omega down a red velvet carpet. Bright flashing lights awaited us.

"Whoa…" Rouge mumbled.

"Cool city," Shadow commented.

"PRIMARY TARGET IS EGGMAN!" Omega chanted. "DON'T FORGET IT!"

"You're too serious, Omega," Rouge commented.

"Let's go!" Shadow took off running toward a, slot machine.

"I ASSUME THESE RINGS WILL COME IN HANDY." Omega made his way toward the slot machine next to Shadow's.

"Hold it!" I said, grabbing the fur on Rouge's neck.

"Ouch! Hey!"

"You're not going _anywhere_, and neither am I."

"Why not?"

"Cause we're underage, that's why!"

"Ok, Keiko, now you're acting like Omega."

"Seriously! We can't gamble! We're underage!"

"What?"

"You're eighteen, I'm fourteen! We can't gamble!"

"How did you know that?" I pulled out a tiny book I stuffed into my pocket before getting stuffed in.

"Guidebook. Duh." Shadow turned his attention toward us.

"Wait, let me see that!" Shadow ran over, grabbed the guidebook, and flipped through the pages. "Ok… Team Dark… Shadow the hedgehog… 'met his demise at the ARK'? What's the ARK?" I mentally smacked myself.

"Space colony! You don't know anything!"

"Hmm… age unknown? Cool, I can gamble."

"Yeah, you can cause you're over fifty years old."

"WHAT?!"

"IGNORE THAT! Anyway, Rouge and I can't."

"Why?"

"Cause we aren't twenty-one."

"So?"

"THERE IS NO AGE LIMIT FOR THESE SLOT MACHINES." Omega piped in. Shadow ran back to his slot machine and Rouge pushed me toward one next to him.

"Don't be such a wuss," she told me. "It'll be fun!" I sighed and had a go at the slot machine. The first one stopped on the pretty little team symbol… wouldn't I get more rings if I landed all three on the team symbol? I carefully stopped the first two reels on the team symbol and patiently waited for my chance at the third one.

"AFFIRMATIVE," Omega chanted. "TEN RINGS GAINED!"

"Hn," Shadow mumbled. "I got twenty."

"Yes!" Rouge cheered. "Fifty rings!" I pressed the button for the third slot… but it slipped past the team symbol… right onto the Eggman symbol.

"NOOOO!!" I yelled. "I LOST FIFTY RINGS!!" I kicked the slot machine, seriously regretting it later. The last machine I kicked was the Game Cube console… and that got me sucked into Sonic Adventure 2. I suddenly glared at the machine. "I'm trying again."

"Keiko-" Shadow started to say, but I already stopped the first reel on the team symbol. I angrily pressed the button twice, and both reels stopped at the team symbol.

"YES! I GOT A HUNDRED RINGS!"

"Keiko, I think you're getting a little obsessed. Didn't you mention that there was an age limit for these slot machines in your world?"

"Aw, come on Shadow! It's just a little fun!"

"And fun is what I'll be having when _I'm done with you_!" a new voice yelled in the distance. It sounded familiar… too familiar. The next thing I knew, we were surrounded by Eggman robots.

"MUST ERADICATE ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS!" Omega fired his blasters in a continuous circle, eliminating all the robots. We weren't done though, and neither was Eggman. Another hoard of robots landed in front of us… and one started running right toward me. I used what little self-defense I knew and managed to knock it out long enough so that Omega could finish it off. Shadow turned into a ball and turned a few of the robots into scrap metal as Rouge gave a swift kick to the ones remaining. I looked at the tiny floating metal pod, which was now floating away.

"DON'T GET TOO EXCITED BOYS!" he yelled to us. "THOSE WERE _EASY_ ONES!" Rouge picked up a small robot part and hurled it at Eggman.

"HEY EGGHEAD!" she yelled. "THERE'S GIRLS HERE TOO, YA KNOW!" But by the time she was done, Eggman was gone. "Whew! Any more of these coming up, Keiko?" I smiled.

"Maybe."

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**Have any of you wondered how the characters could go through this level if they're underage? Well me too. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sigh. I hate Rail Canyon. But I have to write the level to continue with the story. I thought I might not make this a humorous chapter, since the story isn't labeled as humorous, and make it more sentimental. Enjoy!**

XX

I desperately clung to Omega, trying not to look down. How could these three balance perfectly on these measly rails that possibly couldn't support ten pounds? "EGGMAN BASE AHEAD!" Omega pointed out.

"Yes… we know…" I mumbled as I tightened my grip on him.

"What?" Rouge asked. "You scared?"

"Yeah. Duh. We're fifty thousand some feet or so in the air. If we fall, we'll die."

"Aw, stop worrying! We'll be fine!"

"Are you sure I can stay like this Omega?"

"AFFIRMATIVE." I smiled.

"Thanks." Silence. Shadow, surprisingly, was the first to break it.

"Keiko?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me about my past?" That was unexpected.

"Um… well…" How was I going to tell him without spoiling the whole next game for him? "Do you remember reading about the ARK?" Shadow nodded. "Well… sorry for yelling at you earlier… ARK is a space colony."

"Up in space?"

"Obviously. Fifty years ago, a bunch of research experiments to create the Ultimate Life Form were held… and they succeeded… but then there was this horrible accident where the entire space colony was shut down." That pretty much sums it up without giving away an entire game.

"So what happened to the Ultimate Life Form?"

"You escaped."

"Me? Are you saying that the Ultimate Life Form is… me?" I nodded. "So the space colony shut down… I wonder what's it's like…"

"Oh, you've been there. Many times." Shadow sighed.

"Will I ever go there in the future?"

"Maybe."

"Well then… let's go!" The rail suddenly ended, and Omega jumped onto the nearest platform. I got down from Omega's back, trusting that the ground wouldn't collapse any time soon.

"So…" Rouge said randomly. "Where's the base? I thought Omega said the base was here."

"Maybe not here exactly," I told her. "Maybe it's a little further ahead… I still don't like the rails."

"Get over it. There's probably going to be a lot more." I shuddered. What she said was true. "Come on!" We walked into a room where this giant contraption lay in the middle, surrounded by Eggman robots. Rouge stepped closer to it to examine it.

"Be careful," Shadow warned her.

"What is this thing? It looks like something that shoots things out."

"Maybe…" Shadow mused. "We could probably fit in there…"

"AFFIRMATIVE," Omega agreed.

"I'm not sure if I'll fit…" I mumbled guiltily.

"You're tiny, Keiko!" Rouge pointed out exasperatedly.

"Look who's talking…"

"You'll fit in for sure." I swallowed hard and nodded as I stepped closer toward Shadow. "Ok then…" Rouge gulped. She definitely had doubts about this. "Let's go…" She curled herself into a ball and fell into one of the empty slots in the machine. Omega did the same.

"Come on, Keiko!" Shadow called impatiently as he stepped forward. "It's going to fire without us!"

"O-ok…" I gently pressed myself into one of the holes just as Shadow jumped into one. I felt the contraption rising into the air. The next thing I knew, I was flying. This was much worse than running with Shadow or Sonic at full speed. Everything was a blur of shapeless, formless color, and it was flying by fast. Rouge and I screamed, and I could swear I heard Shadow yell. Unsurprisingly, Omega was the only one that stayed silent. I suddenly felt myself falling. Rouge, the bat who had it the easiest in this situation, clung to me.

"OH MY GOD, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" she yelled.

"YOU'RE A BAT!" I yelled back. "USE YOUR WINGS!"

"FINE!" Rouge spread her wings, and I grabbed onto her legs.

"SHADOW!" Shadow grabbed onto my legs, and we landed gently.

"NO DAMAGE SUSTAINED," Omega told us.

"Lucky you," Rouge, Shadow, and I said simultaneously. I dusted myself off and looked around. We seemed to be on a solid platform. "Ugh, I hate Rail Canyon."

"It looks really beautiful, though," Rouge added.

"Yeah, well you should see Frog Forest."

"EGGMAN SIGHTED UP AHEAD!" Omega pointed to a large orange balloon-like thing sustained by a familiar robotic red hawk.

"And this is one of the main reasons why I hate this level."

"Holy crud, that thing's huge!" Rouge stared at it with her mouth hanging open. "Keiko… you're the one that played this game before… what do we do?" I racked my brain for an attack plan. How on earth was I going to do this? I only had use for Omega in this boss level… what would I do? Suddenly, an idea came to me. What if Shadow could do things here that he couldn't do in the game? Something like Chaos Spear? It was worth a shot.

"Shadow, do you remember Chaos Spear?" Shadow's eyes narrowed as he tried to remember. When he was sure of himself, he nodded. "Good. Use it on the orange balloon."

"Got it."

"Rouge, try to stop the rotors from spinning so fast, and Omega, you attack Eggman directly."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"I'll keep up and… knock out some robots that get in your way…" Shadow ran toward the Egg Albatross.

"Chaos… SPEAR!" A yellow spear appeared in his hand as he swiftly threw it at the balloon. That definitely did some damage. Rouge threw a few explosive dummy rings at the rotors, causing them to stop altogether. Once the albatross landed, Omega fired a laser beam directly at the cockpit.

"SHADOW! ROUGE!" They both turned toward me. "GET EGGMAN!!" Shadow fired continuous Chaos Spears as Rouge kicked the hawk repeatedly. At long last, the bird had died.

"NOOO!!" Eggman yelled as the hawk exploded. Eggman lay on the floor… but his head sprang up, bouncing about on a spring. "Muahahahaha!" it kept saying over and over. Omega shook his fist angrily at it.

"I really don't see the point in creating a fake…" I thought aloud. "But that was pretty good anyway. Thank god you remembered Chaos Spear, huh Shadow?" No response. "Shadow?" I turned around, only to find Shadow glaring at something on the ground: a copy of his head with several wires sticking out from the bottom. My blood boiled at it. Exactly what did Eggman hope to achieve by creating a bunch of Shadow robots?!

"Shadow?" Rouge called, concern in her voice.

"Hn," he replied curtly. "Let's go!" I climbed onto Omega's back and we were off towards the Frog Forest.

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**Whew! Long chapter! Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay! My favorite level in the whole game: Frog Forest! Anyway, THE END IS NEAR!! ONLY THREE MORE CHAPTERS ARE SO!! So enjoy the fic while you still can. xD**

XX

I smiled. I always liked the forest and jungle-type levels. The sky was a clear, cloudless blue, and the sun shone on the endless miles of green. Shadow, Rouge, and, obviously, Omega weren't enjoying the scenery as much as I was. Oh well. More for me. "I will find the truth to who I am!" declared Shadow to himself.

"Don't worry about it, Shadow," I told him. "At least, not now." Shadow cocked an eyebrow in suspicion.

"What do you mean?"

"We have more important things to worry about right now. Don't we, Omega?"

"AFFIRMATIVE." I noticed a flash of red, blue, and yellow streak across a lower level of green. Rouge seemed to notice too.

"What are _they_ doing here?" she asked.

"All teams have to go through the same levels," I explained.

"Oh, you mean… HEY!" An invisible force knocked her off her feet, followed by a green crocodile muttering something about a computer room and a hyperactive bee wearing a helmet. "JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?!" Rouge yelled at them. Espio reappeared next to Charmy and Vector.

"Oh…" he mumbled. "It's you guys again."

"And the fortune-teller girl!" Charmy chirped. I blushed and glared at him.

"Shut up, I'm not a fortune-teller!"

"Let's go, you guys!" Vector called to Espio and Charmy. "Find the computer room!"

"WRONG GAME!" I felt myself involuntarily yelling at him. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO CROSS THROUGH THIS FOREST COMPLETELY UNDETECTED, AND YOU AREN'T DOING A VERY GOOD JOB OF IT!"

"What do you—" Vector started, only to be interrupted by a croak.

"Damn it," Espio cursed, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I couldn't help laughing as Vector and Charmy ran/flied as fast as they could to the nearest bush.

"Let's go," Shadow whispered to us. We took off after him… only to run into a gigantic green frog. It croaked loudly and, as if it pulled some trigger, it started to rain. Gigantic plants of all kinds began to grow rapidly. By the time the rain stopped, which was literally a few seconds later, each plant was fully-grown.

"Cool," Shadow gasped. "Let's go!" He took a step towards the gigantic fruit, only to be sent spinning by a certain pink someone.

"Sonic's here!" she yelled. "I just know it!" By the time Shadow regained his footing, he was sent spinning again.

"Chocola…" a high-pitched childish voice mused as she ran after the pink blur.

"FROGGY!!" A large, fat purple cat trampled on Shadow as he ran after the two girls. Rouge tried to suppress giggles.

"You ok Shadow?" she asked.

"Oww…" Shadow moaned. Rouge burst out laughing.

"I thought so!"

"HEY AMY!" I yelled after the trio. The pink blur came to a halt and turned around. I waved my hands about to indicate where I was.

"Hi Keiko!" Amy waved as she looked from me, to Rouge, to Omega, and finally to Shadow. Her mouth fell open as she began to scream. "OH MY GOD, IT'S A GHOST!!"

"No it's not," I objected.

"You're staring at the Ultimate Life Form in real flesh and blood, honey," Rouge told her. Amy glared at her.

"But I thought you fell…"

"I honestly have no idea," Shadow replied flatly. Amy shrugged.

"Oh well… See you guys later!" She took off with Cream and Big. Rouge and I simultaneously sighed.

"Let's go, you guys."

"Wait a minute!" Shadow exclaimed. "Are those…" He pointed to a purple and a red Chaos Emerald on top of a plant.

"Talk about lucky!" Rouge exclaimed.

"I'll get them," I volunteered. I climbed up each platform on the plant, which was surprisingly stable. I spotted a black frog hopping toward Shadow and Rouge. "Damn it…" I quickened my ascent. The black frog croaked and it started to rain. I grabbed hold of both Chaos Emeralds just as the plant began to collapse. I screamed as I fell, only to be caught by Omega. "Thanks."

"Brilliant!" Rouge cheered. "We've got two Chaos Emeralds!"

"Better watch out for those black frogs though," Shadow added. "I think the rain it summoned destroyed that plant."

"It did," I told him. I suddenly gasped. We were in a _jungle_-type level… which meant… lots and lots of water if we fell. "Rouge… you can swim… right?"

"Yeah…" she replied slowly. "So?"

"If we fall, there's a lot of water… Shadow can't swim… I don't think Omega can either…"

"NEGATIVE," Omega objected. "AQUATICS INCLUDED!"

"Yeah, but you're a _robot_. You'll sink like a stone."

"NEGATIVE!"

"Anyway… if we fall… we'll have to save these two… I'll get Shadow."

"Aw, COME ON! I'm half your size! Can't I get Shadow?"

"Are you forgetting that you're twice as strong as I am? You get Omega."

"Fine…" We jumped up to a higher platform. Shadow jumped for a vine to climb to the next ledge.

"Can't… reach… it!" Right on cue, there was a croak. "Thank god for the frogs… maybe they'll give us a lift…" I turned around… only to see a black frog.

"Or maybe they'll just tear us down…" I mumbled. "RUN, IT'S A BLACK FROG!" But it was too late. It started to rain, and our platform started to collapse, sending us plummeting to the water below. Shadow yelled as his eyes bugged out at the miles of water below us.

"MISSON FAILED!!" Omega chanted as we hit the surface. I saw Shadow and Rouge sink beneath the surface, but, to my surprise, Omega stayed afloat.

"How did you…" I managed to get out in between coughs and splutters.

"AQUATICS INCLUDED!!" I nodded. "SHADOW AND ROUGE ARE IN DANGER!!" I took a deep breath and dove underwater, which seemed pretty clear. Thank god this level had freshwater instead of saltwater. I saw two faint figures, Shadow and Rouge. Shadow was clinging to Rouge, pulling her down with him. I swam furiously to the two and grabbed each of their arms. Shadow and Rouge were both unconscious. I pushed them up to the surface, but a stone pummeled me in the stomach, and water flooded my mouth. The underwater scene around me began to blur as I began to sink. Everything went black for a few seconds… The next thing I knew, I was being hauled onto a strip of solid land.

"Keiko!" I heard Shadow say. I coughed and spluttered. I looked up at him wearily. "Are you ok?" I faintly sat up.

"Shadow—" I started.

"Are you ok?!"

"I'm fine!" I said that a little stronger than I intended… which was a good thing. "When you're drowning, you don't pull the people who are trying to save you down with you!" Shadow laughed nervously.

"Sorry about that, Rouge…" I noticed a blue streak fly by on a distant platform. Shadow squinted at it. "Is that… a hedgehog?" I didn't answer. We had to get to Sonic somehow… but how?

"Follow me!" I commanded. Thankfully, there was a green frog nearby, which began to croak. Several plants grew up to towering heights. "Come on!" I jumped up onto each platform and got onto another higher strip of solid land.

"What do we do now?" Rouge asked.

"We wait…" The four of us sat in silence as we waited for the happy-sappy trio. I looked down and noticed a blue hedgehog, a yellow fox, and a red echidna run by. They seemed kind of rushed.

"Look, it's that hedgehog!" Shadow pointed out.

"Wonder what all the rush is about…" Rouge mused. "Bet you those guys are gonna end up getting in my way and making trouble…" Knuckles looked up and frowned in concentration.

"Hey, isn't that…" he mumbled. Tails pointed up to us.

"Sonic!" Sonic stopped dead in his tracks and looked up at us. He smirked as he rubbed his chin.

"Hn… talk about being stubborn and full of surprises!" My blood boiled, and I exploded.

"IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY?!" I jumped down and shook Sonic violently by the shoulders. "YOU SEE SHADOW IN FLESH AND BLOOD AFTER YOU _CLEARLY_ SAW HIM FALL TO HIS DEATH, AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS, 'TALK ABOUT BEING STUBBORN AND FULL OF SURPRISES'?!" Sonic gulped.

"S-sorry…"

"DON'T APPOLOGIZE TO ME!!" Rouge broke up the fight.

"Long time, no see, boys! Too bad you had to come all this way for nothing. We'll take it from here." Knuckles glared at her menacingly.

"What did you say?" he growled dangerously. Rouge smirked as Omega pointed his blasters at them.

"CENSORS LOCKED ON EGGMAN! NON-COMPLAINT INTRUDERS WILL BE DESTROYED!"

"Hn…" Sonic mumbled. "Didn't you know? We have a date with Eggman to?"

"Is that so?" Shadow butted in. "Well… it'll be a date to _die_ for!"

"Hey! That's my line!" I don't recall Sonic ever saying that line, but he zoomed toward Shadow anyway. Shadow smirked and zipped right over to fight him. He and Sonic bounced against each other with absolutely no effect. Meanwhile, Rouge was aiming kicks at Knuckles while trying to block his punches and Omega was chasing Tails with his blasters. Guess I had to butt in again.

"Everybody, STOP!!" Everyone came to a halt. Sonic and Shadow were still facing each other, ready to fight. Tails had thrown some dummy rings onto Omega, who was now in a state of shock, and Rouge had her hand wrapped tightly around Knuckles' fist, trying to force him back. Knuckles, obviously, was aiming a punch at Rouge, and had almost got one on her. "This isn't getting us anywhere! If we're both after Eggman, why don't we just work together?" Sonic waved his arms in frustration.

"You don't get it!" he yelled. "Eggman has this ginormous weapon he'll unleash in one day, and if we don't stop him—"

"You haven't got speed for nothing, Sonic! Use it!"

"What do you guys need Eggman for?" Tails asked innocently. He was so cute.

"He locked Omega in this empty room and shoved Shadow into a capsule!" Rouge explained. "We need revenge!" Knuckles cocked his eyebrow in suspicion.

"No treasure involved?" he asked sarcastically. "You didn't just happen to find the room with Shadow and the robot on your own, did you? Was there something else involved? Something you heard somewhere?"

"Oh, shut up! I just heard that Eggman had a secret treasure, and—"

"I _knew_ there was a catch!" Rouge honestly looked like she was about to cry. I decided to break up the fight.

"Oh, stop flirting with her, Knuckles. We all know you like her." Sonic whistled.

"Never knew you liked her _that_ much, Knuckles!" Tails laughed at his smart comment. Knuckles turned redder than usual. His voice was a low, dangerous whisper.

"Shut up." Rouge blushed.

"Aw…" she mumbled. "How sweet… even for you…" I knew she was just trying to get him mad.

"Shut UP! I do NOT like Rouge!!"

"_Sure_ you don't," Sonic and I replied sarcastically.

"Can we discuss this later?" Shadow asked exasperatedly.

"PRIMARY TARGET IS EGGMAN!" Omega reminded us. "DON'T FORGET IT!" I sighed.

"You're right. Well… see you guys around."

"Wait…" Tails stopped us. "Don't you remember us Shadow? Don't you remember anything that happened on the ARK? About saving the world? Anything?" Shadow glared at the floor, and I answered for him.

"No, Tails… he doesn't remember anything…" He stared at the floor in sadness.

"I knew it… There had to be some reason for attacking us. And why wouldn't he be suspicious? After all, he _did_ just meet a hedgehog that looked exactly like him…" I sighed.

"I know… it's depressing…"

"Well… I guess we'll see you guys later! Bye!" Shadow, Rouge, Omega, and I took off, desperate to find the end of this forest.

XX

**Whew! Long chapter! Just so you know, I LOVE Knuxouge (see A Midsummer Night's Dream for details, even though that's more Shadamy than Knuxouge). Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hang Castle, my second favorite level in the whole game! This level will be more sentimental than the last one, so be warned.**

XX

Rouge looked around in confusion. "Are you sure this is the right way?" she asked Omega. We were in this place that pretty much looked like a Gothic castle. Trees with brown leaves swayed in an invisible wind, and eerie looking torches were lit with blue flames.

"AFFIRMATIVE!" Omega confirmed. Shadow didn't show any signs of panic or uncertainty. Rouge eyed him worriedly.

"What's up?" she asked him. "Something on your mind?"

"Hmm…" Shadow mumbled pensively. He shook it off quickly. "Never mind. Let's go." I felt kind of bad for him. He completely lost his memory, and was desperate to get it back. "Keiko?"

"Hm?"

"That blue hedgehog like me… who is he… and why does he look like me?" I racked my brain for a sensible answer.

"Well… you both looking alike is a complete coincidence." Shadow sighed in relief. "Sonic, the blue hedgehog, is the fastest hedgehog in the world. You're exactly as fast as him."

"I guess that explains why none of my attacks worked on him."

"You could have used Chaos Spear."

"I didn't want to." We walked in silence for a few awkward moments. "You know that fox boy?" I nodded. "What did he mean about saving the world and the ARK?" I had nothing to say. "What did _you_ mean when you said that I fell? It isn't that big of a deal if I fell, is it?" I felt tears form in my eyes as the painful memory returned. "I mean… everyone falls sometime… right?" I nodded wordlessly. "Then why is everyone making such a big deal out of it? They're acting as if I'm supposed to be dead or something!" A tear slid down my cheek. I remained silent. "Keiko?"

"Forget about it…" I tried to keep my voice from wavering.

"What?"

"Just forget about it! You'll have plenty of time to worry about it later, and I won't tell you anything!" I felt bad for yelling at Shadow like this, but I didn't apologize. He sighed and we continued to walk in silence. A closed door loomed in front of us. Omega punched it and fired at it with no avail.

"THIS DOOR IS LOCKED!" he told us.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," I replied sarcastically.

"THERE SHOULD BE A SWITCH SOMEWHERE." We looked around for any of those tiny switches from the game, but we couldn't find any. Suddenly, the area I was walking on creaked. I looked down to see a bunch of wooden crates.

"Hey! I found something!" Shadow, Rouge, and Omega rushed over. I stepped on the creaking spot of the crates. "It's down here, but a bunch of crates are covering it."

"Leave this to me." Shadow turned into a ball and bounced on the wooden crates, shattering them in the process and allowing us a new passage. He looked up at us from down below. "I think I see a switch! Come on down!" Rouge, Omega, and I jumped down into the new passage and found ourselves facing a particularly large sphere spinning eerily. It was dark blue and white with grey markings all over.

"Hmm…" Rouge mused. "Maybe that's it."

"No, don't touch that switch!" But it was too late. Rouge had stepped on it, and gravity was reversed. I felt myself involuntarily flipping over so that my feet were facing the ceiling. I seemed to be falling toward it, as if that was now the floor. There seemed to be an exit near it.

"AAH, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FLOOR?!" Rouge screamed in panic as she landed. Shadow stepped outside and looked around.

"The castle has turned upside down!" As crazy as it seemed at the moment, he was right. All the towers were upside down, pointing towards the dark abyss below us.

"I told you not to press the switch!" I yelled at Rouge.

"It may have been the only way to open the door!" Outside, we found a switch below… er… on a platform. Rouge flew up and pressed the switch, which was noticeably smaller. We heard a creaky door swing in the distance. "Great… the door's open… now how do we get there?"

"Find the switch again, I guess," Shadow offered. We went back inside, and, sure enough, it was there. I cautiously poked it with my finger, and gravity was reversed once again. The switch felt light and airy, as if there was nothing there.

"AAH!" Rouge screamed. "THE FLOOR! THE FLOOR!"

"The castle has turned back to normal!" Shadow pointed out. Thankfully, we landed right in front of the door. "Let's go!" We ran through the door. Suddenly, we walked into an invisible force. A strange blue flame with a pumpkin for a head appeared in front of us. Mad cackling echoed throughout the halls before it disappeared. Rouge and I clung to each other as we screamed.

"OH MY GOD!" we screamed simultaneously. "IT'S A GHOST!" We continued to scream for a few especially short seconds.

"Rouge, Keiko!" Shadow yelled. "It's gone now!" I sighed in relief, but Rouge kept screaming.

"AAH, WE'RE GOING TO DIE! WE'RE GOING TO DIE! What? It's gone?!" Rouge dusted herself off. "None of you saw that."

"Saw what?" I asked, and Rouge smiled. "So… I honestly have no idea where we're supposed to be going."

"OUTSIDE," Omega chanted monotonously. The four of us stepped outside onto a circular balcony. Suddenly, I saw a silver… thing… float through the air. "EGGMAN SIGHTED!" Omega pointed out.

"Let's see if you can take _this!_" Eggman called back. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by robots. Omega fired laser beams in a complete circle, destroying them all. Three robotic turtles dropped in their place. Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at each, turning them into scrap metal. Finally, a giant black robot holding a large club landed in front of us. Rouge and I gulped simultaneously.

"Big robots…" I muttered.

"Shadow and Omega's specialty," Rouge added before laughing nervously. "Right Keiko?"

"Yeah…" The robot swung wildly. Rouge and I ducked and screamed, but I heard another voice among our screams… as if someone was hit… It was Shadow… "SHADOW!" I saw his white fingers grip the edge of the platform. "SHADOW!" I screamed again as I ran over to help him. He finally lost his grip on the platform, but I grabbed his hand to keep him from falling. This couldn't be happening. It never happened in the game… why was it happening now?

"Keiko…" he mused as he looked up at me.

"I'm sorry!" I yelled. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"For what?"

"For yelling at you! I'll tell you what happened to you! You fell from the ARK and that's how you lost your memory, and now it's happening again!"

"What's happening again?"

"You falling! Only this time, I don't think you can be saved!"

"But you're saving me." I felt tears come to my eyes as I lost confidence in what I was doing.

"I couldn't save you last time…" I admitted as a few tears fell. Shadow looked down. "I'm sorry…"

"It's all right…"

"You've saved my life so many times… I haven't saved yours even once."

"You have… in the forest…"

"Besides that."

"It doesn't matter. You don't need to pay me back for anything." I smiled, and he smiled back at me. Sasuke's hand suddenly slipped, but I tightened my grip. I wasn't going to let go this time. Soon enough, I felt myself slipping too. I shrieked. "Let go!" Shadow yelled. "You'll fall!"

"No!" I continued to go down with Shadow until something grabbed my legs. I turned around, only to see Rouge lying on her stomach, her arms wrapped tightly around my legs.

"What?" she asked. "You do realize that Omega and I were here too, right?" I nodded slowly, and we began to slip again. Rouge and I screamed once again.

"Both of you, let go!" Shadow ordered us. "If you both fall, I'll—"

"NEGATIVE." Omega had grabbed onto our legs and was pulling us back. Thank god for his strength. Before we knew it, we were back on our feet. Rouge dusted herself off.

"Wow…" she mused. "Thanks Omega."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"Let's go then!" We found a spring on the center of the platform that propelled us up. Above us was a manhole-like thing which flipped as we hit it, sending us into the open light. We seemed to be in some sort of garden with a several fountains and a long, straight path for us to walk on.

"Keiko?" Shadow mumbled.

"Yeah?" He smiled.

"Thanks."

"But I didn't—"

"No… you did."

XX

**Writing that last part made me feel fuzzy inside. Just so you know, there will be NO ShadowxOC EVER in this ENTIRE series. I don't want to make it cliché-er than it already is. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I noticed how most of you said that I typed the word "Sasuke" instead of "Shadow". Just to get that cleared up, that was just a typo… heh heh… Anyone who plays Sonic and watches Naruto at the same time can make that mistake… heh heh… Anyway, the second to last chapter! Dun dun dun! I hate Air Fleet as much as I hate Rail Canyon. Enjoy!**

XX

Eggman's voice echoed throughout the air fleet. "MUAHAHA!!" he cackled evilly. "YOU FOOLS MUST ALL HAVE A DEATH WISH? WITNISS THIS INVINCIBLE BATTLESHIP BUILT BY THE HANDS OF A GENIUS! IT'S POWER UNMATCHED THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE!"

"Oh shut up!" I yelled to no one in particular.

"Be warned, Doctor…" Shadow muttered to himself. "Even if I'm not real… I'm still the Ultimate Life Form, Shadow the hedgehog!" And with that, the four of us took off running down a steep slope and off a spring into the air.

"Oh my god!" Rouge gasped. "We're flying so high! We might be at the edge of space!"

"Space?" Shadow mused. "Did you say 'space'?" I decided to keep my mouth shut as I clung to Omega. We landed lightly on a rail as we grinded our way down onto a platform scattered with large cannons. Omega sent missiles in all directions, destroying them. I half expected someone to yell out, "Stay away from the markers," but only one problem: there were no markers. This was where I hated the game being a reality; when it was just a game, there were markers indicating where bomb was going to land, but, in reality, we had to read the direction of the cannons.

"Careful, guys," I warned them. "Those cannons can take a punch."

"Hn…" Shadow scoffed. "No problem." He dashed forward over to another row of cannons. One fired straight into the air… and Shadow was about to get hit.

"SHADOW WATCH OUT!" Shadow turned back in surprise as the bomb landed closer and closer. Omega fired at it, causing it to explode in mid air. I sighed in relief. "Be _careful_!"

"I know, I know…" We came to one long conveyer belt with those little boost things coming our way.

"How the hell are we supposed to get through _that_?" Rouge asked flatly. "Any suggestions Shadow?" Shadow stared blankly at the conveyer belt.

"Stay close to me." It all happened so fast, I could barely keep track of it all. Shadow grabbed my hand, I grabbed Rouge's, and she grabbed Omega's. The next thing I knew, Shadow was running at full speed down the conveyer belt, pulling us behind him. I was amazed at his strength as he pulled us with ease while he charged down the protesting conveyer belt. Finally, we made it through and were shot straight into the air, thousands of miles forward. Clouds began to gather and lightning began to flash as we landed. Talk about ominous. Not only that, but we also landed on one of the dreaded evil _rails_. I involuntarily swayed back and forth as I tried to keep my balance. I really hated rails. Shadow grasped my hand tightly. "You won't fall," he told me. "Don't move so much, and you'll be fine." His instructions were clearly impossible. There was absolutely no way I could balance on this rail without moving. It seemed like forever, but we finally made it to a stable platform… scattered with cannons and robots, one being HUGE.

"Care for some firepower Omega?" I asked, nervously eyeing the giant robot.

"AFFIRMATIVE. READY… AIMING… AIMING… AIMING… AIMING… AIMING… AIMING… AIM—"

"Oh get on with the program already!" Rouge yelled in exasperation.

"AIMING… FIRE!!" A flurry of bombs flew all over, destroying everything in their wake. "TARGETS COMPLETELY DESTROYED!!" Omega began to spin, as if doing a little victory dance.

"Save it!" I yelled. "We still have to find Egghead!" We ran down one straight path, destroying several robots in our path. Finally, we stopped at a single rail. I gulped nervously at it. "Omega?"

"No," Shadow answered for him. "You're doing this rail alone."

"But—"

"No buts." Shadow had no idea what was in store for him, but I did. This was the rail where all the lasers appeared. The clouds continued to gather above our heads as we jumped on the rail. I grasped Shadow's hand so hard, I thought I would break it. "This weather… could be an omen…"

"You're thinking too much, Shadow," Rouge replied jokingly. She suddenly noticed the serious expression on Omega's face. "What? You too Omega?"

"SENSING STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD APPROACHING!" There was a slope in the rail, which was one among many, and we were grinding downwards. Lightning flashed and Shadow gasped.

"Yellow laser!" The four of us simultaneously jumped as a strange yellow light stretched out over all the rails. I felt heat at the bottom of my feet as we skimmed the top of the rails. Finally, it disappeared, and it was safe to land. "Whoa…"

"INCOMING: RED LASER!" Omega warned us.

"Again?" No one answered. Shadow pulled me up just before a red light appeared over the rails. My feet tingled through my sneakers as I landed.

"Whoa…" Shadow muttered. "That better not happen again."

"Oh no…" Rouge whined. "It is! Another red laser!" We jumped, barely avoiding the lasers. Finally, when we landed, the rail ended, and we were allowed to jump onto solid land.

"Is Eggman into cannibalism?" I asked. "Cause he could have fried us and put us all in a stew."

"That wasn't him," Shadow replied. "That was the weather."

"Well it better not happen again… at least I think it won't."

"Look!" Rouge gasped. She was pointing down the long path we were standing on, at a huge, evil-looking robot. "Dr. Eggman!"

"CENSORS LOCKED ON EGGMAN! READY TO FIRE!"

"Enough of this!" Eggman snapped back at us. "Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Keiko! Time to meet your maker! I'll show you what real evil is!" And with that, he started firing at us. Waves of light began to fly in our direction.

"What do we do?" Rouge asked, jumping over one wave.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Shadow yelled, jumping out of the way of another wave.

"Just follow him!" I yelled. "He'll give you a chance to attack, but be careful. There's a lot of robots." Sure enough, we followed him into a circular platform where he fired continuous waves at us. Rouge flew up and threw explosive rings at him while Shadow chucked a few Chaos Spears at him and Omega fired bombs into the cockpit. I stomped on a random robot's head, picked it up, and threw it at Eggman with all the strength I could muster.

"OWW!" he yelled as the flurry of attacks continued. Within minutes he was done. "NOOOOOO!!" The robot was in ruins, and Eggman lay limp in a pile of silvery liquid.

"EGGMAN TARGET: COMPLETELY DESTROYED!" Omega did a little victory dance while Shadow glared at the ruins of the robot.

"Now let's find that secret treasure!" Rouge whispered to herself as she walked away. I stared at the floor. There was nothing I could do to keep Shadow from the pain and confusion he was about to face.

"PREPARING TO DESTROY REST OF BASE!" Omega told us as he stomped away.

"Keiko?" Shadow called. I nearly jumped in response. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" He didn't seem convinced. "You'll understand later."

"I want to understand _now_. What is it?"

"Nothing!"

"It's about that robot I saw back at the canyon, isn't it?"

"What robot?"

"You know what robot. The one that looked like me."

"Oh… that robot… What about it?"

"That's what I was just asking you!" Right on cue, Rouge jumped in between us.

"All this for what, nothing?" she ranted. "I guess I'll go looking after the Master Emerald again, since that irritating echidna is here." Shadow smirked.

"Hn, some things never change, do they?"

"What are you saying?!" I didn't pay attention to the rest of their conversation. Instead, I looked up at the dark sky. This wasn't over… In fact, it was just beginning…

XX

**Gah. I know I rushed through the last boss. Anyway, I'm thinking of expanding my oneshot, A Midsummer Night's Dream. What do you think? So PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**aWOOT! LAST CHAPPIE! Enjoy while it lasts!**

XX

I managed to tune out Shadow and Rouge's constant bickering as I tried to listen for Metal Sonic. The sky grew darker and darker as lightning flashed and thunder cracked. "So you're implying that you _do_ like the echidna?" Shadow teased Rouge.

"For the last time, Shadow, I do _not_ like that pathetic excuse for a treasure hunter!" she yelled back angrily.

"Sure you don't…"

"Real mature, Shadow." I could hear a low, ominous, evil laugh, but Shadow and Rouge were making it hard to hear.

"Both of you, shut up!" I snapped at them. "Listen!" The laughing steadily grew louder.

"What _is_ that?" Rouge asked. Shadow suddenly gasped.

"Look!" he yelled, pointing to a dark figure perched on top of a high platform. The lightning happened to flash around it.

"Oooh, so shiny!" Rouge commented.

"I cann_ot_ believe you're worried about that now," I muttered as I scanned the figure of the thing Shadow was pointing to. It seemed to look like a large hedgehog… a lot like Sonic… I looked around desperately to see if Sonic, Amy, and the others had caught on. They had, and they, like us, were running toward Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic chuckled darkly. "All living things kneel before your master!" He reached toward the sky. Bolts of lightning seemed to flash onto his hand, and, suddenly, the platform exploded. His arms grew long claws, his head grew large, and the white stripe running across his forehead disappeared, as two extra eyes appeared in its place. It gave a great cry to the sky.

"Metal Sonic has finally transformed!" I heard Eggman say. When did he get here? An army of frightened robots started running past us, but our gaze never averted from Metal Sonic.

"So _that's_ Metal Sonic?!" Sonic asked, alarmed.

"It's useless!" Eggman continued, ignoring Sonic. "Metal Sonic has combined your data with the power of Chaos and is super strong! We can't defeat it!" He threw his arms in the air. "Argh! If only we had the _seven Chaos Emeralds_!" At that very moment, Shadow, Omega, Cream, Sonic, Big, Espio, and Charmy pulled out a Chaos Emerald. The look of defeat on Eggman's face changed to total shock and confusion. "What's this? But how?" He sighed and shook his head. "Even with the Emerald's power, our chances of victory are slim! It would take a miracle!" Sonic tossed his Emerald up and down in the air.

"Just leave that to me, doc!" A look of worry flashed across Amy's face.

"Sonic, no!" she cried.

"I'm going with you too!" Tails declared, a determined look on his face.

"You can count me in too," Knuckles added, a smirk painted across his face.

"All right, guys," Shadow started. "We'll buy you some time. That way, you can use your super powers." This was the one part that didn't make sense to me. If Shadow could barely remember that he was the Ultimate Life Form, how could he remember that Sonic had super powers if he'd just seen them once? Sonic smirked.

"Ok then… let's get ready to do this… we'll show that creep the real super power of _teamwork_!" I almost threw up right then and there as I heard the corniest line in the entire game played out to me. Suddenly, Metal Sonic made a dive for a distant platform, surrounded by open space.

"Let's go," Shadow whispered, as he grabbed my hand and ran for Metal Sonic. Apparently, we weren't the only ones. Team Rose charged right at him.

"You're the one pretending to be Sonic!" Amy accused. "You're the one who's responsible for taking Froggy and Chocola!"

"I can't believe you'd do such a thing!" Cream shrieked.

"You're going to pay for this!" Big demanded before whacking him with his fishing pole. Amy pulled out her hammer and slammed it down hard on his head. Meanwhile, Cream and Cheese did a duo attack. Cream whacked him with her large ears while Cheese flew around to confuse him. It wasn't long before Espio stepped into the picture.

"Get out of the way, he's dangerous!" he ordered Team Rose, who obeyed without question. It was now the Chaotix's turn. Espio disappeared while Charmy attempted to sting Metal Sonic and Vector punched him. Out of nowhere came knives flying rapidly at Metal Sonic. I assumed these came from Espio. Then it was our turn.

"Oh stop hogging all the glory!" Rouge ordered while grabbing Charmy and flinging him away. "It's our turn now!"

"So _you're_ the one responsible for all this!" Shadow accused before shooting a continuous stream of Chaos Spears at him.

"Consuming power at your own will…" Rouge muttered. "Hn… and that's supposed to make you tough?!" She threw a flurry of purple bombs at him, which all exploded on contact.

"TARGET DIRECTION HAS CHANGED!" Omega announced as he shot open fire at him. "SITES LOCKED ON… METAL SONIC!!"

"Don't forget me!" I yelled. "I want my revenge too!" I picked up a nearby crate and threw it at him. I suddenly turned back in alarm; it sounded like something was spinning very fast. The Chaos Emeralds surrounded Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Within a few seconds, Sonic changed from bright blue to flashing gold, and a golden light surrounded all three. I couldn't look for long, though. Something hit me in the stomach, knocked the air out of me, and sent me flying. For a few minutes, I lay on the hard, cold ground, gasping for air.

"Keiko!" Shadow looked back in alarm, but I gave him a thumbs-up sign, indicating that I was all right. The flurry of Chaos Spears, purple bombs, and open fire continued until Metal Sonic bellowed. His claws disappeared and long nail-like things grew in their place. I assumed this was what allowed him to fly. It was, and he took off into the air. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles weren't far behind.

"Be careful!" I yelled after them. Their departure left the most boring period of time in the history of people getting sucked into video games. Shadow, Rouge, Omega, the Chaotix, Team Rose, and I sat on that same square platform, waiting for Sonic to finish. After a few minutes, I began to lose patience. "What's taking them so _long_?! They're in super form! Shouldn't they be moving pretty fast?"

"I guess so…" Rouge replied uncertainly.

"Come on! It doesn't take _that_ long to defeat a giant robot!"

"_Yes_ it does," Shadow replied. I sighed in exasperation.

"So…" I really sucked at initiating conversation.

"So…" Amy repeated.

"So…" Charmy repeated.

"All right, can we just get along with the conversation?!" Vector yelled in exasperation. "Better yet, _I'll_ start it. So… how'd you guys fare with the giant robot?"

"You mean Metal Sonic?" Amy asked.

"No! I mean the one with Eggman!"

"That one?" Rouge chimed in before scoffing. "Easy peasy." Shadow smirked.

"Torturing people with Chaos Spears is fun," he mumbled. "I never knew I could do it until Keiko pointed it out…"

"EGGMAN WAS A FAKE!" Omega reminded us.

"We know…" I replied.

"My ninja powers came in handy," Espio told us.

"Yeah, Espio and I did all the work!" Charmy exclaimed indignantly. "Vector didn't even lift a finger!"

"Hey!" Vector yelled at Charmy.

"_Anyway_," Amy continued to break up the fight. "I sent that robot to Timbuktu via my piko piko hammer."

"Cheese and I did very well," Cream squeaked. "Thank you Cheese!"

"I found Froggy!" Big cheered.

"We know," I replied, yet again.

"I think I see something there!" Cream told us, pointing towards the sky. A large blue figure fell through the clouds, onto the ground.

"We should go," Shadow whispered. Then he did something I'd never expect him to do: instead of grabbing my hand and running, he picked me up and ran. Sure we didn't go as fast as usual, but it was pretty fun. At least I didn't have to run. I heard Rouge giggle behind us. From the distance, I saw Metal Sonic transform into a cute little robot.

"It's useless…" he mumbled to himself in defeat. "But why can't I defeat you?"

"Because…" Sonic started dramatically. "We're Sonic Heroes!" Another corny line, another need to puke.

"SONIC!!" Amy yelled from behind us. She suddenly ran ahead of us.

"Anytime you want a rematch… just let me know… I'll be waiting." And with that, Sonic ran off into the distance.

"Hey Sonic!" Tails called as he started to run behind him. "Wait for me!" Amy turned around and started running backwards.

"Sorry to leave like this, but I can't let my Sonic get away!" She waved at us before turning around and chasing Sonic. Cream and Big ran forward, then stopped.

"Good luck, Amy!" they yelled as they waved. Knuckles chuckled to himself.

"Sonic sure has his hands full…"

"Bye Shadow!" Rouge whispered to us. "Bye Keiko! Bye Omega!" She then walked past Knuckles. "Well, I guess I'm out of here too," she said a little more loudly. "I guess I'll go looking for the Master Emerald!" And with that, she ran off past Amy.

"She never gives up, does she?" Knuckles asked no one in particular. "Oh no you don't!" he yelled after Rouge as he chased after her. "WAIT!!" I couldn't help laughing.

"Bye Rouge!" I yelled after them. "Bye Knuckles! Good luck!" Yep. They definitely liked each other. By now, Shadow, Omega, Cream, Big, the Chaotix, and I were the only ones left.

"Well, that's it for this case," Vector declared.

"But what about our money?" Charmy asked innocently.

"Man! I almost forgot!" I saw Eggman tip-toeing away. "That _slime ball_!" The Chaotix began to chase after Eggman, who broke into a run. Omega picked up the inert body of Metal Sonic.

"What's that over there?" Shadow asked, pointing to a familiar blob of green light.

"PREPARE TO DESTROY STRANGE GREEN LIGHT!" Omega pointed his blaster at it.

"Wait!" I grabbed Omega's arm. "That's mine… that's what takes me back to my world." Shadow and Omega stared at the ground sadly.

"We'll see you again…" Shadow mumbled. "Won't we?" I gave him a tight hug.

"Sure," I told him in our embrace. "I'll try…" We finally let go, and I turned to Omega. I put my arms around him as well. I have to admit, it did hurt a little. "Bye Omega… it was nice working with you…" I released him and started walking toward the green light, which seemed to have gotten smaller. When I was about an inch away, I looked back and waved. "Bye Shadow! Bye Omega!" And I stepped into the green light. I was transported into a black void, and I fell onto the soft carpet in my brother's room soon after. Grand music played monotonously as the bright blue screen glared at me. I glared at the TV screen in return.

"What?" I heard a familiar voice say. "I thought you were going to do Team Dark!" I turned to the doorway to see my lovable, dark-haired, immature brother. I looked back at the screen. Four teams stood, staring to the side idly. I smirked and grabbed the controller.

"Whoever said that?" I asked. "I was going to pick Chaotix!" I knew this would upset my brother. The Chaotix always drove him nuts.

"NOOOOO!"

XX

**As unbelievable as it seems right now, there will be NO ShadowxOC. Under NO circumstances will Shadow EVER fall in love with Keiko, or vice versa. Anyway, IT'S OVER!! I felt all warm and fuzzy inside while writing the last farewell part. I TOLD you it would be sentimental! Anyway, NEXT UP… SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! THANKS FOR READING!!**


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